We've all seen the commercial, right? The one where the girl says, "that's so Emma and Julia." It's stupid as anything, but it packs a message.
Sometimes we say things and we just don't even think about the message that we're giving. Even presidents fall prey to that. Who do we hurt because we jumped on a catch-phrase bandwagon? Sure, the terms we use have different meanings. Sure, we mean no disrespect to an entire class of people when we use these words. Sure, we're better than that. But think how you'd feel if you were the the gay one in the crowd. Or the one that was retarded. Or the one who was an athlete in Special Olympics.
Today starts a campaign to ban the word "retard" as a derogatory term. All I'm asking is that you think about what you say before you say it. Just like your mother taught you to do.
Perhaps it's said best by this student.
10 comments:
Check out this powerful article:
http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2009/03/29/stand-tall-together/#more-13220
that is the most worthwhile 10 minutes i have spent in a loooooong looooooooooong time.
thank you for sharing that.
I'm sad the people still say the "r" word - it has absolutely NO place in our society.
Thanks for this post - I hope tons of people read it.
I couldn't agree with you more. Words have power, and we should use all words conscious of the effect they have.
I long ago banished that word for use outside of its clinical meaning. It would be fabulous if everyone else did, too.
Excellent point! In an effort to fit in, our lingo should not make another person feel "out".
I think that boy said it really well. Great speech. I agree. Our society is so mean. And kids learn things from their parents and it's our job to make sure our children learn what's right and what's wrong.
People are just plain stupid.
I will admit, in other news, that I have used the phrase, "that's the gayest thing I've ever heard." However, that was to a gay friend in reference to the fact that he was going to buy a long-haired Chihuahua to carry in a man purse like an accessory. So I think it's ok.
I cried the first time I saw that speech. He did SUCH a great job with it. I'm with you -- although ummm I've never seen that commercial you're referring to. And I don't think I want to go look it up.
That was an amazing speech! God Bless that young man, his family must be so proud.
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